About Me

Amanda:I've always had a love of cooking. As a teenager, when most of my friends were watching sitcoms, I was watching Food Network. I was always experimenting on my family with my "creations." Recently I have found a new passion in food. I now follow the principles of Weston A. Price Foundation, using Real Food when I cook. I've eliminated processed foods from my life. I don't use too many measurements when I cook, just a lot of love.

I have opened up this blog to my family and some friends, so there will be a lot of recipes to enjoy. As always, please leave comments, and suggestions. If you try one of our recipes, please let us know what you thought of it! To find out more about me, visit my personal blog here.

Contributing Cooks:

Julie:One of my wonderful sister-in-laws. Shes a great mom of two. She and I share a passion for food. One of her favorite weekend spots is to go hang out at the gourmet supermarket to take in the sights! You can visit her personal blog here.

Karen:My Momma. Yes, I'm almost 30 and call her Momma. She encouraged my love for food by helping me cook many dinners while I was growing up. I cooked spaghetti so many times, that to this day, we are both "tired" of it. But back then she never complained.

Jules:I met Jules in the blogsphere and fell in love with her blog, Far from the Sticks. Here is a little more about her in her own words: I grew up in the wilds of New Hampshire. After college I went in search of warmth and sun and ended up in San Diego. In Feb. '09 I moved to Ankara, Turkey with my fiance. Officially I am now an ex-pat. I am currently butchering Turkish in my attempt to learn it, but have had more success with the food. I pounce at any chance to try a new dish, and have few boundaries when it comes to what I won't eat. Through my exeriences I am learning the intricacies of a cuisine that varies from Mediterranean to Anatolian. Growing up I never imagined this particular adventure but nonetheless am excited for what is to come.

Recipes I want to try

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Amanda's Enchiladas & Mexican Rice

If you were to ask my husband what his favorite dish is that I make, 9 times out of 10 he'll say your burritos! For some reason we've always called this dish 'my burritos' but in truth they resemble big enchiladas more than a burrito. I looked it up on Wikipedia. Either way, this is a simple, filling and tasty dish. (Extras make a great freezer dish, if you can get them to the freezer without eating them all!)

Preheat oven to 375º. Peel corn ears and toss in oven on the rack. While you prepare the meat, let the corn cook. You know its done when you can pierce the kernels with a fork easily.

Sautè onions and minced garlic in a skillet. Add ground meat. Stir until almost cooked through. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder & any additional spice.) Add refried beans mix thoroughly. Partially drain the tomatoes and add them to the meat. When corn is finished, take out of the oven and let cool. With a sharp knife, carefully slice off the kernels. Stir them (or the canned/frozen corn) into the meat mixture.

In each large tortilla add about 1/2 cup 0f meat (okay, I didn't measure, it's usually two big scoops with a big serving spoon.) Roll the tortilla up and place it into a greased baking pan. Do this with the remaining tortillas. Sprinkle with grated cheese and pour the cans of enchilada sauce on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is nice and melted.

Mexican Rice

1 cup of white rice2 cups of chicken stock1 can of tomatoes1/2 large onion2 cloves garlic1 tsp cumin1 tsp dried oregano1 can of diced chilies1/2 tsp turmeric (you can omit this, but it gives it the nice yellow-y color)

Dice onion and sautè in a saucepan. Add garlic. Stir everything else into the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook covered about 20 minutes. (The extra tomato juice requires it to cook a bit longer than the package directions for the rice.)

Toddler Quesadillas

For my twin toddlers, instead of a big messy burrito, I gave them small messy quesadillas instead. I took some of the meat mixture (before I added extra heat) placed it on a tortilla, added grated cheese and folded in half. I grilled them for a couple of minutes in my cast iron skillet. Served the rice and some fruit on the side. I made these for my toddlers, but I'm sure they would be a good lunch for adults too!-Amanda